The Ekushey Book Fair will end on April 12, said State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid on Saturday.
“As the government decided to enforce a weeklong strict lockdown across the country from April 14, such a decision has been made in line with the lockdown measures,” he said.
This year’s book fair started on March 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and scheduled to continue till April 14.
Earlier, the Ministry for Cultural Affairs changed the schedule of the fair and decided to continue the book fair from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, instead of the previous schedule of 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
At the same time, the ministry urged the public to follow health rules and not to engage in any unhygienic practices.
The coronavirus situation started worsening across the country despite the 7-day nationwide lockdown. The deaths and infections from the virus are on the rise in the country. As a result, the government will go for a strict lockdown from April 14 to curb the infection.
A total of 540 institutions have allotted stalls and pavilions at the Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan for this year’s fair.
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